 Darling’s Budget rocks no boats
- Chancellor is ‘risk averse to the point of inaction’ -
12 March 2008: “The benchmark for ‘good budget performance’ has fallen from being one that isn’t unpopular to one that isn’t incompetent”, Lisa Macpherson, National Director of Tax at accountants PKF has observed. “To that extent, Alistair Darling can claim this was a good Budget.
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 | “The Chancellor will be satisfied that, unlike his 2007 Pre-Budget Report, he has not roused almost universal condemnation and protest. Nevertheless he was so risk averse, deferring even minor initiatives, that he could be accused of refusing to act. |
“Arguably there were no opportunities to miss this time round so the Budget cannot be labelled a ‘missed opportunity’; it is more of a hazard avoided.
“In focusing measures aimed at tackling child poverty, protecting the environment, and cracking down on binge drinking, smoking and tax avoidance, there is little room to criticise his goals. Yet the Government’s own 2010 target for reducing child poverty is unlikely to be met; environmental moves are little more than ‘greenwash’; sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco taxes are designed to raise revenue not change behaviour; and shutting down tax loopholes is a task that the electorate expect the Treasury to fulfil on an ongoing basis in any case.
“The as yet unanswerable question is whether the books will balance. As the economy continues to slow, tax revenues are falling; with lower levels of corporation tax, stamp duty land tax and so on. The measures announced today won’t rock the boat economically but nor will they make up the revenue shortfall and the position is unlikely to improve by the time of the Pre-Budget Report in the Autumn.”
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Notes to Editors:
- PKF is a leading firm of accountants and business advisers with more than 1,800 partners and staff operating in 23 offices in the UK mainland firm, a wholly-owned financial planning company and associated offshore practices. The firm specialises in advising growing and entrepreneurial/owner-managed businesses, AIM and fully listed companies, and also has extensive experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Principal services include assurance and advisory; taxation; consultancy; corporate recovery and insolvency; corporate finance and forensic. The firm has particular expertise in advising sectors such as hotels and leisure; mining and resource; public sector; real estate and construction; professional practices; not-for-profit; and medical. The firm’s web site is www.pkf.co.uk.
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